On dualizable objects in monoidal bicategories, framed surfaces and the Cobordism Hypothesis (1411.6691v1)

Abstract: We prove coherence theorems for dualizable objects in monoidal bicategories and for fully dualizable objects in symmetric monoidal bicategories, describing coherent dual pairs and coherent fully dual pairs. These are property-like structures one can attach to an object that are equivalent to the properties of dualizability and full dualizability. We extend diagrammatic calculus of surfaces of Christopher Schommer-Pries to the case of surfaces equipped with a framing. We present two equivalence relations on so obtained framed planar diagrams, one which can be used to model isotopy classes of framings on a fixed surface and one modelling diffeomorphism-isotopy classes of surfaces. We use the language of framed planar diagrams to derive a presentation of the framed bordism bicategory, completely classifying all two-dimensional framed topological field theories with arbitrary target. We then use it to show that the framed bordism bicategory is equivalent to the free symmetric monoidal bicategory on a coherent fully dual pair. In lieu of our coherence theorems, this gives a new proof of the Cobordism Hypothesis in dimension two.